Members of the Coast Guard Cutter Waesche (WMSL-751) law enforcement boarding team inspect a self-propelled semi-submersible (SPSS) in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean, Nov. 20, 2023. The interdiction of the SPSS yielded more than 5,500 pounds of cocaine. In November 2023, Waesche crewmembers seized approximately 18,219 pounds of cocaine, with an estimated street value of over $239 million, during four separate suspected drug smuggling vessel interdictions or events off the coasts of Mexico and Central and South America. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)
It is a small thing but must be slippery boarding one of these at sea. Took a close look at their footwear. Was a bit surprised, but this would make sense. (Click on the photo to enlarge)
Chuck Hill's CG Blog 
Chuck, what exactly are they wearing? I can’t really tell even after zooming in.
Appear to be open toed sandals.
https://originalfootwear.com/products/altama-maritime-assault-mid-1
Maritime Assault Boots.
These things are all the rage in DSF, HSI, CBP and any other state/local Maritime nased LE team.
None of those seem to matchup with what I am seeing.
The Coast Guardsman on the left in the photo is pretty obviously wearing the high-top, Multicam version of Altama Maritime boots. You can see the camouflage pattern on the sides. The other guy might be wearing the patterned version, tough to tell because they look soaked rather than just wet, or maybe his are the Coyote Brown version.
(I wear the low-tops in Black at work myself–not LE or MIL though)
They resemble “tactical Converse sneakers” in actual use, which I kinda like about them. I get the occasional question to the effect of “wait, the company is OK with you wearing Chucks at work?” Then I get to explain.
@Andrew E., Thanks for the info. Did look like something out of the ordinary was required.
Every time I see a photo of Coast Guard special forces boarding one of those self-propelled semi-submersibles, the Coasties are wearing woodland camouflage BDUs. That never made sense to me. Does the Coast Guard boarding party expect to hide in the trees in the middle of the ocean? Are they expecting to encounter a forest in the middle of the ocean? What’s wrong with the standard blue uniform — my guess is that blue simply doesn’t look “cool” enough for special operators to wear. OK, but instead of woodland camouflage or desert camouflage, how about ocean camouflage? I believe the Navy has some ocean camo.
My feeling is that if you end up in the drink, you want to be seen, and we are not trying to hide from the smugglers. We want the smugglers to see the boarding team as military and the Woodland camouflage would actually show up better in the water than the standard blue uniform so it is not a terrible choice. I would like to see a reflective strip incorporated in the standard uniform much like the French Navy uniform.
LeDets, MSST, and MSRT wear Navy Type III, which can be either desert or woodland, but interestingly, these uniforms are neither camo pattern. These appear to be the US Army Operational Camouflage Pattern (OCP), which is a modification of Crye’s Multi-Cam, which is available for purchase on civilian market. It’s possible these are commercial (bought with unit funds?) obtained by these personnel. I’m guessing the footwear would be similar: either private purchase or via unit funds due to their operational environment.